It is often desirable to hang posters such as advertising posters or other sheet-like material in a commercial establishment without having to go to the expense of providing frames.
The applicant is aware of prior art display clip structures or supporting clamps, notably, U.S. Pat. No. 4,899,974, which issued to Wear et al on Feb. 13, 1990 for a Display Clip Structure, and U.S. Pat. No. 1,301,885, which issued to Tobiason et al on Apr. 29, 1919 for a Supporting Clamp. Wear et al discloses a sheet retaining clip supported in one embodiment by a suction cup. Tobiason et al teaches a sheet retaining clip or clamp also supported by a suction cup, the clamp having arms for frictionally engaging therebetween a sheet. Both the Wear et al and the Tobiason devices retain sheets within a single set of arms for frictionally engaging the sheet. These devices support tension applied to the sheet in one direction, generally colinear with the suction cup support and perpendicular to the frictional engaging means by which the sheet is clamped between the arms.
The applicant is further aware of U.S. Pat. No. 5,199,681 which issued to Reidy on Apr. 6, 1993 for Bracket System For Mounting Posters On Walls. Reidy discloses frictionally engaging the corners of sheets in an L-shaped bracket, the means for frictionally engaging the sheet corner being a rotatable member pivotably mounted at the corner of the bracket, the member having frictional engaging means which are engaged with the sheet when the member is rotated into engagement with one arm of the L-shaped bracket. The frictional engaging means disclosed is a protruding bump on the rotatable member and a corresponding groove on the L-shaped bracket for mating of the bump within the groove when the member is rotated into engagement with the bracket, frictionally engaging a corner of the sheet between the bump and the groove. The unit, comprising the L-shaped bracket and rotatable member, is supported on a wall or like surface by pushing a tack-like protrusion which extends perpendicular to the plane of the bracket into the wall or like surface. Similar to the Wear et al and Tobiason et al devices, the Reidy invention teaches tensioning a sheet in one direction, that is, along an axis co-linear with the support means attached to the wall.
It is an object of this invention that the bracket of the present invention not only support the corner of a sheet or poster along both arms of an L-shaped bracket but also frictionally engage the sheet or poster along those arms so that the sheet or poster is tensioned in 2 directions.